


Justin and Darko Throw a Birthday Party

by Burgie



Category: Star Stable Online
Genre: Gen
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-10-15
Updated: 2017-10-15
Packaged: 2019-01-17 18:46:04
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,217
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/12371796
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Burgie/pseuds/Burgie
Summary: What it says on the tin. Justin and Darko throw a birthday party for Dakota Moonchild, who belongs to ifellfromthenightsky on tumblr.





	Justin and Darko Throw a Birthday Party

Dakota had seen and heard many strange things happen in Jorvik since arriving here. Girls being locked in castles or other dimensions, girls shooting lightning from their hands, horses that could talk to her, a farmer who preferred none-harmful methods of dealing with rodents, storms that happened only when the Firgrove championship was being run...

But none of that strangeness could prepare her for seeing a black tentacle composed of shadows uncurling from beneath a car to deposit an envelope at Dakota's feet while she stood in Governor's Fall waiting for the tram. She looked around, but nobody else seemed to have seen anything strange. At least, there were no screams. Maybe there had been something strange in her ice cream...

Nevertheless, Dakota bent and picked up the envelope, which felt very much real. It was addressed to her, too, which made her curious. An envelope delivered by a shadowy tentacle. Tucking her hair behind her ear, she sat on a bench and opened the envelope to read the contents. The tram was taking forever anyway, she may as well do something to pass the time. In the envelope was a letter, which read:

_Dear Dakota,  
A little bird named Justin told me that today was your birthday. Happy birthday! If you go to the coordinates I have listed below, you will find something very special.  
I look forward to seeing you~  
From Darko_

Beneath this was scrawled in far more humble handwriting 'and Justin'. Dakota smiled, tucking the letter back inside the envelope and the envelope into her jacket pocket. She'd mostly been planning on celebrating her birthday with ice cream, but this was even better.

After finally returning to Fort Pinta, Dakota mounted her horse and rode to where the coordinates led her. They took her past Silverglade Village, past the winery, all the way through the gates to Golden Hills Valley. She rode her horse at a walk along the road while she consulted her map, trying to puzzle out just where this mystery place was. It seemed to be in the mountains, which was odd. She couldn't exactly ride up into the mountains, not unless...

"Aha!" Dakota cried as it finally clicked. She'd almost forgotten about that place, after she'd sucked up the Shadow Seekers and used the 'purified' forms of them to close the Pandoric crack. But now, it was surprisingly easy to remember the way up into the mountains where the large Pandoric rocks had once marked out the path. At the thorny entrance to the place, however, her horse stopped, rearing and shaking his head.

"What's wrong?" asked Dakota, frowning as she petted her horse's neck.

 _"I'm too scared to go in there,"_ said her horse.

"Why? The Shadow Seekers are gone now," said Dakota. "And the Pandoric crack is closed. It's safe in there now, surely."

 _"I know, but the place just gives me the creeps,"_ said her horse, shifting uneasily from hoof to hoof. _"I don't want to go in there. Can't you go in alone?"_

"Come on, it'll be fine," said Dakota, squeezing her horse's sides with her knees. He nickered uncertainly, but grudgingly stepped forward into the strange place that had once been filled with dark purple fog but was now filled only with light and scorched stones. Dakota couldn't help but remember the terror of hiding in the dead bushes as the Shadow Seekers droned past, nor could she forget how chilly the air in here had once been. But it was a warm day today. Perfect for her birthday.

As her horse got used to the idea that nothing was going to hurt him in here, Dakota began to ride at a trot, and, by the time she got to the end, she cantered up the small slope, a grin already spreading across her face as she beheld the sight of a large dining room table laid with a table cloth and several delicious-looking foods. There was also a smaller table, holding two wrapped gifts. And, standing near the larger of the tables was Darko, a furry cat toy draped around his neck like a strange kind of fur stole, and Justin, who was currently doing his best to relocate an entire bowl of crisps to his stomach.

"And here she is right now, the birthday girl," said Darko, nudging Justin sharply in the ribs so that he almost choked on a crisp. The younger man coughed but managed to swallow his mouthful, glaring at Darko.

"What are you doing here?" asked Dakota, dismounting her horse and hoping that he wouldn't bolt away from the clear and present danger of two Dark Riders. Fortunately, he wandered over to the far end of the table and stayed there.

"Well, remember how we used to talk before I disappeared?" asked Justin. "You told me when your birthday was, and so, here we are."

"Justin just happened to casually mention it this morning," said Darko. "While we were discussing our very important work at Dark Core. That's why this is so rushed."

"Sorry," said Justin. "I didn't think you'd plan something. I was just going to send you a card or something, Dakota. But as soon as Darko heard, he immediately came here and started setting up all this stuff."

"Well, things are quiet right now," said Darko.

"But you don't seem like the kind of guy who'd care about a party," said Dakota. "This seems more like something Justin would do, or some other Jorvegian."

"Well, to be honest, I did it partly because I knew that it would make you happy, which, in turn, would make Justin happy," said Darko, putting an arm around Justin's shoulders.

"But aren't you married?" asked Justin, pulling away from Darko.

"Yes, but she understands," said Darko, stroking the fluffy body of the thing around his neck. Dakota had to resist the urge to laugh when she saw that it was a cat toy, a worm on a string. "We have an open relationship."

"So then I do have a chance," said Justin. "Good. But we'll work that out later. For now, we have a birthday cake to get ready."

"Yes we do," said Darko, and dug in his pocket, producing some candles. He placed them in a large chocolate cake, one that was decorated with fondant stars and moons and horses, as well as some horseshoes. It was appropriately dark for being (presumably) made by a Dark Rider.

"That cake looks delicious," said Dakota, her mouth watering at the sight of it. She could only imagine how delicious it must be. "Who made it?"

"My grandfather," said Justin. "He's the best cook on the base. Katja is pretty good too, but she's been a bit busy lately."

"Darn, too bad she couldn't come," said Dakota. "But I'm sure she's here in spirit."

"Yeah, her and Jessica," said Justin. "You wouldn't think they'd be busy because Sabine does most of the stuff, but you'd be surprised."

"There are a lot of things to do behind the scenes," said Darko. "But let's not talk about work here." He gave Justin a look, and Justin nodded and shut up.

Darko twirled his cane, and, once flames had erupted along its length, he held it poised above the cake and then carefully touched it to each and every individual candle. The flames seemed to burn with a dark aura, and Dakota was pretty sure that she could see things slithering in the shadows, but she felt oddly safe with Justin and Darko here. Her horse was a little skittish, though, sidling closer to her and almost leaning over her shoulder, his ears pinned back while Justin and Darko sang 'happy birthday' to her. Darko's voice was a rich baritone that Dakota knew made many people melt, even with how silly the song was. By the time he finished, both Justin and Dakota were looking at him with lovestruck expressions, while Dakota's horse tried to express to her that he would like to leave now, please.

"Now make a wish," Darko purred. Dakota closed her eyes, wishing that all four Dark Riders could be here to help celebrate the weirdest birthday party she'd ever had, and blew out the candles. When she opened her eyes, of course it was still just the three of them (plus one very irritated horse), but Dakota was only disappointed for a moment before Darko plucked out the candles and Justin picked off the wax that had dripped onto the frosting. Rather than removing all of the candles by hand, Darko waved his hand so that every candle appeared in his fist. Then, he put them away and twisted his cane, taking off one half of it to reveal that it doubled (tripled?) as a sword. Darko then proceeded to cut the cake with the sword, making Dakota laugh.

"You do everything with so much drama, I love it," said Dakota. Darko smiled.

"Many people do," said Darko, carefully slicing the cake with a precision that surprised Dakota. Darko wasn't just bragging about being the best, he really was the best. Even if his dorky tendencies led others to believe differently. The man had pins and a teddy bear keychain on his bag, for heaven's sake. Also, he had a shoulder bag. Yet Dakota knew that he could quite easily kill someone if he so wished. And yet here he was, slicing her birthday cake with a sword, wearing a worm on a string (that he was married to) around his neck. It was just so ridiculous that Dakota didn't even mind that the other Dark Riders couldn't be there.

"Thank you," said Dakota, taking the slice of cake that Darko handed her. It was a delicious chocolate confection that she happily and quickly devoured, needing more of that wonderful taste. "Oh, this is wickedly good." She licked her lips and wondered if she could ask for seconds. Fortunately, she didn't need to, as Darko cut another slice and put it on her paper plate.

"Well, the recipe did say that it was called Devil's Food Cake," said Darko. Justin moaned in delight as he ate his own slice of cake.

"Man, if only I'd inherited my grandfather's cooking skill," said Justin. "This is so good."

"I will demand that he teach us his ways," said Darko. "But later. For now, I'm sure that you must be wondering what gifts we have brought for you, Dakota."

"I am a bit curious," said Dakota with a laugh, looking at the beautifully-wrapped gifts. She had no doubt that the more extravagant-looking gift was from Darko, but she wondered what Justin would have gotten for her. She chose his gift first, being most curious about that, and had to grin when she unwrapped it to find a brand new saddle. "Aww, Justin, thank you!"

"Heh, I thought you'd like it," said Justin, smiling. Dakota put down the saddle and hugged him, Justin returning the hug warmly.

"Strange," said Darko. "Usually, I am the first choice. This is a new feeling."

"Don't be offended, Justin was a really great friend to me," said Dakota. "I was just interested to see what he got me. I'll open yours now, though." Still laughing at Darko's jealous expression, Dakota tore into the wrapping surrounding the large box. She had to chuckle at what she found inside, though.

"Well? Do you like it?" asked Darko, hovering over her shoulder.

"Justin gave me the saddle and you gave me the rest," said Dakota, grinning at them both. "Maybe we can wear it out." She looked at her horse as she said this.

 _"If it means we can get out of here sooner rather than later, I absolutely agree,"_ said her horse with a flick of his tail. Dakota ignored his impatience, however, turning back to the two men who stood at the table. Justin was on his second slice of cake, while Darko was looking at her expectantly.

"Yeah, we probably will do that," said Dakota. "But later. I still have to catch up with my two favourite guys, and I don't want all this yummy food to go to waste." She gestured to the table, and Darko chuckled.

"No, we can't have that," said Darko. He joined her and Justin at the table, and the three of them ate and chatted until they couldn't possibly eat another bite.

"Let's take the leftovers back to the base," said Justin. "Unless you want to take them home, Dakota?"

"No thanks, I'm good," said Dakota with a wave and a smile. "I can barely carry this extra tack as it is. Speaking of, I should change my horse's tack before we get going."

"Would you like some help with that?" asked Justin, making his way over to her.

"I think I'll be okay, but thanks," said Dakota as she removed her horse's current tack and swapped it out with the new tack. It looked very nice on her horse, even her horse had to admit that.

But, as Dakota rode away, all her horse could talk about was how happy he was to get away from those evil guys. She just laughed, kindly reminding him that those evil guys had given him that great new tack. Her horse didn't care.


End file.
